Switched
by Louis Skye
Summary: Creator and created are switched but must complete the other's mission.


SWITCHED  
  
'Hey, Han,' Luke called.  
  
'Han?'   
  
'I just patrolled the area. Doesn't look like there's much here. She might've gotten lost somewhere east of where I last saw her.'  
  
'She who?'  
  
'What do you mean 'She who'? Leia! What's gone wrong with you Han?' Luke studied his friend. He looked normal enough.  
  
'Mark, I don't know what you're talking about!'  
  
'Mark? Who's Mark? I'm Luke!' Luke was beginning to wonder whether his friend had lost his senses. The past few years had been traumatic and maybe they were now taking their toll on his mind. Or maybe, he was just worried about Leia. She had disappeared and they hadn't the slightest clue where to look for her.  
  
'Mark. You're Mark. Stop this Luke business, will ya? And don't call me Han. They're not filming at the moment, anyway.'  
  
'Filming? Han, what are you talking about?'  
  
'There you go again. Didn't I just tell you not to call me Han? I know you take your acting seriously, Mark, but this is pushing it!'   
  
'Whoa! What do you mean?'   
  
A roar signalled the approach of Han's co-pilot and friend, Chewbacca. He walked over and moaned sadly. Behind him came C3po and R2-D2.  
  
'Hey Peter, tell Mark here to stop playing the fool, will ya?'   
  
Chewie roared something.  
  
'That's great, Peter. I know you do that very well, now please, why don't you just...'  
  
'Han, why are you calling Chewie Peter? Have you suddenly gotten everybody's names mixed up?' Luke put a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him.  
  
Han shrugged it off and looked at Luke angrily.  
  
'STOP WITH THE HAN BIT, MARK! YOU'RE IRRITATING ME!'  
  
'No need to get angry, Han! What do you want me to call you?'  
  
'What you always call me! Harrison! Just call me Harrison. Peter, stop yelling like that. Speak like a normal human being will ya!'  
  
'Harrison? Why Harrison, from all names? What kind of strange name is that, anyway?'  
  
'Strange? IT'S MY NAME!'  
  
Luke took a step back. Maybe he had under-estimated Han's feelings for Leia. He was taking this rather badly. They hadn't any substantial evidence that she was dead. They could still keep looking and hopefully they'd find her. What Luke couldn't understand, was the change in name. Why change your name suddenly?  
  
'Stop gaping at me like that, Mark! What's gotten into you? Where's George? I want the day off. No way am I working with lunatics.' Han started walking further into the woods and Luke and the others followed.  
  
'Carrie! Hey Carrie, where are you?' Han shouted. Then he suddenly stopped and looked around the forest. 'Is this your idea of a practical joke, Mark?'  
  
'I don't play practical jokes anymore, Han, and my name is not Mark. It's Luke.'  
  
***  
  
'Harrison, would you like to sit down? You look tired,' Mark said. He approached his colleague, who was looking around at the trees.  
  
'What'd you call me, Luke?'  
  
'They're not filming now, Harrison. You needn't call me Luke. And anyway, that line is not there in the script. Not that it matters when you're concerned. You're always changing the lines.' Mark sat down on some of the grass and looked up at Harrison who was now looking rather bewildered. 'Won't you sit down?'  
  
'Filming? Lines? What are you talking about, Luke?' Harrison looked down at Mark.  
  
'You know what I'm talking about. You always change the dialogues. Or rather, you don't learn the dialogues and say whatever you want. Like that 'Don't get cocky' one. That came as a surprise, you know.' Mark smiled, sadly. He didn't find it funny but he was sure Harrison would laugh out loud in a moment.  
  
'Don't get cocky? What's so strange about that?'  
  
'Hey, you guys. Want something to drink?' Carrie walked up to them with a bottle of cold water.  
  
'Leia!' Harrison jumped down and hugged Carrie very hard. Mark was up in a second trying to pull him away.  
  
'Cut it out, Luke!' Harrison shouted.  
  
'Luke? Why are you calling him Luke, Harrison? And why are you hugging me?' Carrie looked at Harrison.  
  
'Excuse me. I hope I'm not intruding on anything personal here.' In walked Peter Mayhew holding the head of his Chewbacca costume.  
  
Harrison jumped back and yelled. 'Chewie! What's happened to you?' he ran up to Peter and studied the costume.  
  
'Chewie? I prefer Peter, Harrison.'  
  
'What? Peter? What do you mean?'  
  
'Harrison Ford! Stop playing games with us. It's getting irritating now.' Mark put his hands on his hips and looked at Harrison.  
  
'Harrison Ford? Why are you calling me that, Luke?' Harrison asked, feebly.  
  
'Oh God! He just won't give up! His aim in life is to tease me to death, I think!' Mark sighed and walked away.  
  
Harrison walked past Peter and stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him were probably a hundred or so people. Movie cameras were being checked and re-checked. George Lucas was talking to Richard Marquand. They were probably discussing the next scene. Anthony Daniels was taking a sip of water and Kenny Baker was being fanned. Harrison stared.  
  
'You look like you've seen a ghost, Harrison,' Peter said behind him.  
  
'How did all these people get here, Chewie? They don't look like rebels. Why is everybody calling me Harrison? What happened to your head?'  
  
***  
  
'If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. MY NAME IS HARRISON FORD AND I AM AN ACTOR.'  
  
Luke looked at Han. He had used the force to probe Han's mind and he hadn't found a single thing remotely connected to the Han Solo he had known just a few minutes ago. It was impossible yet true. Harrison looked and sounded exactly like Han.  
  
'Harrison, where do you come from?' Luke asked. He might as well get to know him.   
  
'America, just like you, Mark,' he replied.  
  
'How old are you?'  
  
'Forty-one.'  
  
'FORTY-ONE?' Luke almost fainted. Han was only thirty. How could a man so much older look exactly like a man so much younger?  
  
'Yeah, don't sound so surprised, Mark. You're no spring chicken yourself.'  
  
'Why do you keep calling me Mark?'  
  
'What would you like me to call you, then? Your name is Mark Hamill. Whenever I think of you, which is rare, I think of you as Mark Hamill. I can't suddenly think of you as Luke Skywalker.'  
  
'Where were you just a few minutes ago?'  
  
'I was in a forest, filming for Return Of The Jedi. We were doing the scene where Luke, Han, Chewie, C3po and R2-D2 find some wrecked speeders and then get caught by the Ewoks.'  
  
Luke leaned forward, intrigued. This guy knew what was going to happen. 'And then?'  
  
'What do you mean 'And then'? Read the script if you've forgotten. I'm not going to tell you.'  
  
'Script?' Luke sat up straight. He was beginning to realise what had happened. 'Were you alone?'  
  
'Right before you came back? Yeah, Carrie went to get some water and you went to take a walk in the woods.'  
  
'Han was alone too. I understand what happened. You've been switched!' Luke exclaimed.  
  
'Switched?' Harrison's brow furrowed.  
  
'Yes! You were transported here and Han over there. Wherever 'there' might be.'  
  
'How did that happen?'   
  
'I don't know. But that's the only logical explanation. Maybe the Empire had something to do with it.' Luke traced his eyebrow with his index finger, thinking hard.  
  
'I doubt the Empire could do that, Ma... Luke, I mean.' Harrison smiled.  
  
Luke looked at him. Same smile! They were alike in all respects. Except that, Han was brave and Harrison seemed to be a coward. Considering how he'd tried to run away when Luke explained to him that they were all alone on Endor. The fact had frightened Harrison very much. He had expected the entire Star Wars crew to be there. But the forest was devoid of any human life.  
  
'We'll have to look for Leia, Harrison. She is still missing. I can't let anything happen to her.'  
  
'Yeah, your sister, right.'  
  
Luke looked up at him in surprise. Harrison knew that Leia was his sister. Nobody else knew. It was a good thing they were alone. The droids and Chewie had resumed their search.   
  
'It's all in the script.' Harrison smiled his trademark lop-sided smile.  
  
***  
  
'I think we've been switched. There's no other possible explanation. I've never heard of anything like it, though.'  
  
'You mean to say that Harrison is somewhere on Endor?' Richard Marquand asked.  
  
'Yeah. That's what I'm saying,' Han said.  
  
'We'll never get this movie finished! Who knows when he'll come back!' Richard Marquand exclaimed.  
  
'If he comes back, that is,' Carrie said, deep concern in her voice.   
  
'I don't believe this! Do you know the cost of one movie? DO YOU KNOW THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS SPENT?' Richard Marquand was going hysterical.  
  
'It's not his fault. He didn't purposely switch places with Harrison.' Mark defended Han. He didn't know why, though. Probably because the man was innocent!  
  
'We have to resume filming somehow,' George Lucas said to Han.  
  
'Maybe if we give him the script, he might be able to learn up the lines or use his own lines,' Anthony Daniels, standing behind Mark, suggested.  
  
'That's a great idea!' Richard Marquand jumped up. 'Get the script here!'  
  
'I don't believe he didn't think of it before. Don't you think it was the most obvious thing to do, Mark?' Anthony asked.  
  
'Not everyone thought about it, Anthony.' Mark smiled at his closest friend on the Star Wars set.  
  
***  
  
'So, what is Mark Hamill like?' Luke asked.  
  
'A pain,' Harrison said, then immediately regretted it when he saw the sad and hurt expression on Luke's face. 'I mean we don't really get on very well.'  
  
'Why is that?'  
  
'Because... we don't.' Harrison didn't know what else to say.  
  
'Han and I are very close friends,' Luke stated.  
  
'I know. I have to act like I really care about Mark. Actually it's a lot easier acting like I really care about Luke. But then I think that it's really Mark, and then it's not so great.'  
  
'Hmmm... I see. Oh, look! There are the wrecked speeders you mentioned. How close is Leia?' Luke looked back to see Chewie looking at him rather bewildered. 'Don't worry. Harrison knows what's going to happen.'  
  
'Yeah sure!' Harrison gave a weak smile. He didn't know what he was getting himself into but he did know that he had to help them find Leia.  
  
As the script went, Chewie smelt the food. He ran over and Harrison recited his lines. He remembered them better since he didn't have to concentrate on them. They were soon in the Ewok's trap and R2 cut the rope. They fell on the ground and the Ewoks came. So everything went perfectly.   
  
Luke couldn't understand what Harrison was doing, though. He expected Harrison to help them but as far as he could see Harrison had gotten himself as well as them into a stew.  
  
***  
  
Mark walked over to Han who was reading the script. Han's brow was furrowed with concentration.  
  
'Need some help?' Mark asked.  
  
'No. It's just that... this is all happening and Harrison mightn't be able to do anything,' Han said, his voice edged with concern.  
  
'Don't worry. Luke will take care of everything.' Mark smiled, taking pride in his perfect character.  
  
'You two good friends?' Han asked.  
  
'Harrison and I? Not really. I mean we don't get along so well. I don't know why.' Mark sighed.  
  
'Hey, is the script okay? You look a little worried, Han. God! That sounds strange,' Anthony Daniels said.  
  
Mark laughed and put an arm around his friend's golden suit. Anthony moved away, wincing.  
  
'Don't. It cuts into my skin.'   
  
'I'm sorry.' Mark looked at his friend. Anthony was the only Star Wars actor who was suffering. He had cuts and bruises all over his body because of the C3po suit. But he was a great C3po and a great friend.  
  
'Ewoks? What do the Ewoks look like?' Han asked.  
  
'Well, it'd be better if you were surprised, then at least you could say what you want to. We'll get the real Han Solo, that way,' Anthony said. He smiled at Han.  
  
'Well... okay then. I'm ready to shoot.' Han handed the script over to George Lucas and smiled. George smiled back. Han was George's favourite character and he thought it was great that they could meet.  
  
***  
  
The shoot took ages to finish. Han did whatever he wanted because they wanted the real Han Solo's expressions. Han knew most things but the events were still strange. He kept thinking of Harrison. If for some reason Harrison bungled up Luke and Leia would be goners and Han couldn't bear that. Luke and Leia had established themselves in his heart and he didn't want anything to happen to them.  
  
Mark watched Han closely throughout the shoot. Han's eyes had a worried expression and Mark couldn't help worrying too. He was basically thinking of the same thing Han was.   
  
The shooting was over for the day and they went back to the hotel. Mark smiled when he saw Han's surprised expression at seeing the van hired to take them to and from the hotel. Han couldn't stay alone, so he was supposed to spend the night in Mark's room, which Mark wasn't too happy about.  
  
Han got to sleep on the bed and Mark took the sofa. It wasn't really that uncomfortable but Mark couldn't sleep. He kept wondering whether they would switch back and he'd suddenly find Harrison in his hotel bedroom. Wouldn't Harrison have a lot to complain about then! He saw that Han wasn't sleeping either so he walked up to him.  
  
'You alright?' Mark asked.  
  
'No. I keep thinking about Leia. What if I never see her again?' Han said. His voice was sad.  
  
'Of course, you will. You mustn't think negatively. You'll be back with your friends, I'm sure.' Mark smiled at Han.   
  
'But, what if...'  
  
'No more 'what ifs', Han. Try and get some sleep. You'll have to get up at six in the morning and go for shooting again, so try and sleep.' Mark thought a moment then patted Han's shoulder. He felt pretty stupid doing that but he could see that some of the tension eased out of Han at the action.  
  
Mark didn't look very much like Luke when he was in his pyjamas and all the make-up had been washed off. His behaviour was very different from Luke's, as well. Luke was always serious. At least he was now.   
  
'Hey, Mark. What's Harrison like anyway?'  
  
'Let's see. He's exactly like you,' Mark said, looking at the ceiling.  
  
'Exactly like me?'  
  
'Exactly!'  
  
'Nothing special, huh? Well, goodnight.'  
  
***  
  
Harrison wasn't very happy when he realised that he would probably have to fight the Battle Of Endor. He'd never held a gun before, apart from the prop guns, that is. Luke had explained everything to Leia and she had looked very, very sad for quite some time. Harrison had tried to be like Han. But he wasn't Han. Unlike in the script, he couldn't go and give her a nice hug when Luke told her about her family and that he had to go and fight Vader.  
  
He prayed all night that in the morning it would be fine and this would just be a dream. He wanted to wake up and see that he was back in his hotel room. He had a strange feeling, though, that everything *would* be fine in the morning.  
  
***  
  
'Hey, Han,' Luke called.  
  
'Yeah, kid?' Han asked.  
  
'I just patrolled the area. Doesn't look like there's much here. She might've gotten lost somewhere east of where I last saw her.'  
  
'Hope you're right, kid. Let's go look.' Chewbacca and the droids rejoined them and they walked after Luke. R2's sensors still couldn't pick up any signs of Leia.  
  
***  
  
'Harrison, would you like to sit down? You look tired,' Mark said. He approached his colleague, who was looking around at the trees.  
  
'You needn't tell me. I know when I have to sit down.' Harrison immediately sat down.  
  
'Hey, you guys. Want something to drink?' Carrie walked up to them with a bottle of cold water.  
  
'Sure, Carrie.' Harrison took the bottle and drank some water. He was rather thirsty after doing so much talking. He handed the bottle over to Mark who drank a bit as well.  
  
THE END 


End file.
